Ipps Oppose Move To Replace Plf Mechanism
Independent Power Producers Association of India (IPPAI) director-general Harry Dhaul yesterday opposed a government proposal to replace the existing plant load factor (PLF) mechanism of assessing power plants performance with the plant load availability (PLA) method.
This would further deepen the bankruptcy of the state electricity boards (SEBs) and also lead to a large number of disputes, he told newsmen here.
Though the proposed amendment appears to lure the independent developers, the financial position of the SEBs would be badly effected in the long run. Merely putting legislations does not go deep into the problems, the government must see that basic issues are addressed and think of adverse implications caused due to such legislations, Dhaul said.
The performance of the SEBs are already weak and the new law would further cause problems to the boards, he said, adding that no foreign investor would like to enter the market if the country is weak internally.
We are emphasising too much on the international finance and underestimating our own internal fundings, he pointed out.
Foreign investments should be used as a catalyst for development and the government should me more pro-active and transparent so as to see what the people want, Dhaul said. He said there should also be a policy to address the power distribution structure which the Centre is not concentratingon.
The present law does not touch the distribution network in the power sector and the suggestions made by the IPPAI are getting no response from the government, he said. He also felt that the governments method of comparative bidding in the power sector would not work. Instead, it would lead to dissatisfaction among the developers, he feared. The government has not recognised independent power producers as the real players in this sector and the level of interaction with the government has not been much, Dhaul said.
He said the government should take effective measures to frame a policy for the distribution system and effectively carry out the transmission policy framed recently.